June 21, 2020 - "No Respect" Birds

A famous line from comedian Rodney Dangerfield was, “I get no respect.” The birds in this series of photos are the “no respect” birds; most humans are not fond of them. But they are native species and deserve their place in the avian world. This is a male Red-winged Blackbird. His orange and yellow wing feathers provide a bright splash of color on his totally black plumage. When two males are trying to impress each other, they bend forward, spread their wings, and puff up these colorful feathers as much as they can.

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The female Red-winged Blackbird looks quite different than the male. Her speckled plumage makes her look like an overgrown sparrow. However, when she is sitting on her nest built among the cattails, she virtually disappears from sight. Red-winged Blackbirds are probably most famous for descending on your feeders and emptying them for you.

BlackbirdRedwingedfemaleDunningLakeItascaCounty20200619

When seen in the right light, the male Cowbird’s iridescent blue feathers seem to shine. It’s pretty obvious why his full name is Brown-headed Cowbird.

CowbirdBrownheadedmaleDunningLakeItascaCounty20200513

Cowbirds are another species where the female looks distinctly different than the male. The official name for this is sexual dichromatism. The cowbird’s bad reputation is due to the fact that the females lay their eggs in the nests of other species and let the other birds raise their babies. Historically, Cowbirds followed herds of Bison and ate the insects stirred up by the Bison’s hoofs. Bison were constantly on the move, so Cowbirds weren’t able to settle down and manage a nest.

CowbirdBrownheadedfemaleDunningLakeItascaCounty20200512

The Common Grackle is another bird whose shiny, iridescent feathers show up well in bright light.

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On a cloudy day, the Grackle’s colors are more muted.

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Grackles are good providers of food for their babies. Here’s one with its beak full of dragonflies. I managed to get both a front view and a side view of this bird, so I put them side-by-side like in my Bird Mug Shots book. Perhaps this is the start of a new collection called “Mug Shots of Birds with Food.”

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